Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1887-05-13
orange Growing IN r,lori1a

man ~ an earnest. deliberate 49,.
that was intended to evoke n cond;d
reply rom the orange grower to whom
it was put. 'o'n
"How. long is piece Of strinpYo re-
turned the orange grower
II he had been disposed to attem,+
m answer he might have said truth.
lully that an oronge grove will come
INTO bearing in from six months -
10 or 20 years from the time Of start
ing IT, and that whether the interval
Is nan year or fifth of q centr,.v
depends almost wholly upon the wish
Of the owner.
lhere is eolorcd man in this town
VINO has in his grove number OF trees
whose topmost leaf is less than 1s
inches above the ground, and whoseti
~ branches are now weighed down by
young irnlt. Their trunks are about
lalf an inch in diameter. Kneelna
lewn over one Of these niniatpra
lrees, so az IL have his subject well in
hand, he said -
"This tree is sweet bud IN q no.
i've STEM The sour stem was set ont
mere ayear ago last spring. It was a
sprout one or two years old when ]
TOOK 1t from the nursery. | don't
know which. The bud was put in last
september. In March the tree was so
luil OF bloom that it looked like a bon
quet. The life OF % tree is counted
from the time it was put in the ground
whether as a seed or n sprout-if it
IS q sweet tree, and from the time OF
puttlngin the buds if sour tree. So
you see here a tree that was in bloom.
or IN bearing. when it was six months
DID," - '''O ''''
| Within hall n mile of this colored
mans grove is q grove in which are so
or 90 sweet Seeding trees that are l3
years old. The largest OF them are
about 10 feet tail, with tops 10 feet in
diameter and trunks 16 inches in
circumference. Only ono Of them
nus ever borne @ blossom, and that
one now has four oranges on tits
first crop. This grove has never been
properly tended, and has had no fer
tlllzer worth mentioning put omit.
An orange grower ofconsiderable ex-
pericnce said: "a sweet bud cut from
q bearing tree may have within itself
the germ and potency of twigs that
will straightway bear blossoms, or it
may not be such abud. In the former
case the twigs and the blossoms are
bound to come out ii the bud can be
kept alive. Ii it could be kept alive
inserted in the cork of bottle don t
know but it would be possible to show
a beer bottle bearing q full crop of
! young oranges within sixmonths after
it left the brewery. Now, ii the TO . is
OF the sour tree are sufficient to sup
ply nutriment in the necessary guam
tity to the young bud thelittle oranges
may stay on and ripen, otherwise they
will fall OF. II the oranges on the col
ored mans iii: months old bud don t
drop off pretty soon tho tree itself will
drop off. The probabilities ere that
that tree, il allowed to have IT, own
way, viii drop it's fruit for tnfaJ G.
four year., end will then begin to ripel
halfa dozen ORANGES q year, growlAs
less new wood each year, and finally
standing still stuntcd shrub tbs
will bear maybe 50,or so oranges at {
crop.
"Now about the big, sweet Seeding
that have not begun TO bear," the or
ange man went on "rhey are an ex
treme case, as much as the coloroC
mans haf-ycal-old bearing grove is
They have been growing under th
temporary disadvantage OF almost en-
tire neglect. Fortunately the soil hat
enough in it TO keep them alive anC
making healthy wood. though slowly
| Maybe next year, and maybe not til
thres or four years later they Wi
show bloom. The first crop ought Il
be, perhaps TOO oranges to the tree
the second close to 500, and the thift
fully 1000. ii the colored man ha'
planted a sweet seed at the same tim
he put the bud in MS sour stem tina
is ROW I'm bearing, as they say, tn
. probability is that he would have 90
a profitable tree from the seed assooI
as from the bud, in casethe bud dldn'
begin bearing so early rs to prevent
ever making 8 valuable tree
allow soonwould expect to have
grove that would pay for taking care
| itself and return Il satisfactory prom
or the investment il | began maElnS
now? Well, in 10 years-proVlde
, oranges brought the samcprice then a
! they brig now"
The matter oil fertili2ing has 4 goo
dead 20 do with the growing OF orano
;reesin all except thefew favored spot
where the soildoes not require sueh II
enforcement. The colored 9ranz
Grower mentioned in the foregoing wa
unabloto buy fertilizers; so be tertlllze
with fish caught in the st. John $ rlyS
with a seine and drawn up On h
mule cart. He conducted this wor
after thcmanlle9'otan independentah
original investigator.
"Tbis Yer tree, said hefOndiyp attlr
tg,e smooth yellow trunk ofailne sect
l;nc. ais seven yesnss old from the seel
and was raised @n shad. Not blg
fertilizer but fish, and not q ilsh b'
shad hes ever been put on II. a
t WAYS boil up the fish. Then l car
I fnliy dir away the earth, bury II
. hoiied meat on the line roots and eo'
err il with earth. The liquid ! use II
! watering the roots This shad d tr'
has :. 900 young oranges on 1t. ov'
. there is a nlullet tree. lon see 1t II.
th i, frun'.s separating about eigl
inrke, from the ground. They, we
,hroo liftle trees. standing severa! inc
e .' aDarf, and drew the BODIES =
cothar with my finger and put " WI
: around them. YoucanluSt see Il sen 81,
! in the bark where it has Johea, ~
, trunk must be about nIne men en-
' through at thebottom' lfeelS0n. : 1n